Battle of Downs

The battles of Downs or battles of the Dunes, is held the October 31st 1639 during the Guerre Eighty Year old, which merges, starting from 1618 with the Guerre Thirty Year old. The Dutch fleet, ordered by the admiral Maarten Tromp, gains there a decisive victory over the Spaniards, ordered by the admiral Antonio de Oquendo.

Context

In 1639, Spain sends a powerful naval forwarding, made up of 77 ships, taking on board 24.000 sailors and soldiers, in the Manche, in order to dispute control with the Dutchmen of it and to unload an army with Dunkirk.

Unfolding

At the beginning of October, the Dutchmen see their enemies. Tromp which however has only 13 vessels, attacks its adversaries with such an amount of skill and ferocity which the latter must take refuge meadows of the English coast, with the damping of the Downs, between Dover and Deal, beside an English squadron, ordered by the admiral Pennington.

Tromp, joined by the 17 vessels of Witte de With, makes the blockade of the Spanish fleet and sends a pressing request for reinforcements in Holland. At the end of October, it has under its command 105 ships and 12 Brûlot S. the 31, it sends of With to observe the English and to dissuade them to intervene, and attacks with the remainder of its fleet.

The heavy Spanish boats impossible to operate, incompetents to resist, all are destroyed or captured except for 7 of them. The human losses are enormous: 15.200 Spanish sailors and soldiers perish, and 1.800 others are captured. Antonio de Oquendo escapes the disaster and with the favor of the fog, succeeds in bringing back the few ships survivors to Dunkirk.

Consequences

This battle puts a term at the Spanish naval power. The Dutchmen and the English quickly benefit from this situation to attack and try to seize the Iberian colonial possessions.

However, the battle of Downs constitutes also a humiliation for England: its neutrality and its territorial water were ridiculed in front of its impotent fleet. The resentment which results from it is perhaps not foreign with the degradation of the relations with Holland and leads the two countries to clash militarily ten years later.

Battle order

Povinces-plain (Maarten Tromp)

(incomplete)
Fredrik Hendrik 36 (flagship of With)
Groot Christoffel 28 - détruit
Deventer (Govert Voorns)

Spain/Portugal (Antonio de Oquendo)

Santiago 60 (Castille) - Capitana Real or royal flagship escapes from Dunkirk, on November 1st, 1639
San Antonio (Pinace) - (Masibradi) - failed on October 31st
San Agustin (pinace) - (Martin Ladron de Guevara) - failed on October 31st
Santa Tereza 60 (Portugal) - (Gift Lope de Hoces) - destroyed on October 31st
San Jeronimo
San Agustin (Naples) - Vice-admiral - failed on October 31st, run 3 or 4 days later
El Gran Alejandro (Martin Ladron de Guevara) - capturé
Santa Anna (Portugal)
San Sebastian
Santa Catalina (Guipuzcoa) - failed on October 31st
San Lazaro
San Blas (Masibradi) - failed on October 31st
San Jeronimo (Masibradi) - burned on October 31st
San Nicolas
Santiago (Castille) - Burned off Dover in the night of November 2nd
San Juan Bautista (Guipuzcoa) - run on October 31st
Esquevel the 16 (rented in Denmark) - taken on September 28th
San Jose (Dunkirk)
Los Angeles (Castille) - failed on October 31st
Santiago (Portugal) - failed on October 31st
Delfin Dorado (Naples) - failed on October 31st
San Antonio (Naples) - failed on October 31st
San Juan Evangelista (Dunkirk)
El Pingue (rented ship) - run on October 31st
San Carlos (Masibradi)
San Nicolas (Masibradi)
San Miguel
Orfeo 44 (Naples) - lost with the Goodwin sands on October 31st
San Vicente To shoe (Dunkirk)
San Martin (Dunkirk)
Nuestra Senora de Monteagudo (Dunkirk) - escapes from Dunkirk on November 1st
Santiago 60? (Galicia) - taken on October 31st
? (house of Masibradi) - taken on September 28th, taken again the same day, escaped with Dunkirk, on November 1st, shipwreck 4 days later
Santo Divided into volumes (Martin Ladron de Guevara) - failed on October 31st
Nuestra Senora de Luz
Santa Clara
San Gedeon (Dunkirk)
San Jacinto
San Carlos (Dunkirk) - run on October 31st
Santo Cristo of Burgos (San Josef) - lost along the French coast on October 31st
San Paulo (Masibradi)
San Miguel
Corona (rented ship)
Pressed It gold San Pablo Pressed It (Castille)
San Esteban (Martin Ladron de Guevara) - taken on October 31st
San Pedro of Fortuna (rented ship) - failed but manages to get clear on October 31st
Los Angeles (rented ship)
Imperial Aguila
Mujer
Santo Domingo de Polonia (rented with the Poland) - failed on October 31st
San Jose (flagship of the squadron of Biscay) - captured on October 31st
San Salvador (flagship of the squadron of Biscay) - escapes from Dunkirk on November 1st
Sao Balthasar (vice-admiral of the squadron of Portugal) - 800 barrels - regains Lisbon in 1640
San Francisco 50? (Dunkirk) - escapes from Dunkirk on November 1st
San Pedro el Grande (flagship of the squadron of Ladron de Guevara)
Santiago (Martin Ladron de Guevara)
Jesus Maria (pinace)
San Pedro Martir (urca) - (rented ship) - failed on October 31st
Fama (Urca) - (rented ship) - failed on October 31st
Santa Cruz (Masibradi)
San Daniel (Guipuzcoa) - failed on October 31st
San Juan Evangelista (rented in Hamburg) - failed on October 31st
Santa Agnes (frigate) (Naples) - failed, but released on November 3rd
Grune ? (Castille) - failed on October 31st
Santa Teresa (Saetia) (Castille) - taken by a French corsair on October 31st
Exchange (conveying rented English) -
Peregrine (conveying rented English)
Insurance (conveying rented English)
5 other conveyers anglais

Reference

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